| 17/03/2006
- A Bury builder has been ordered to pay £10,800 for
hiring a company not licensed to carry waste to dispose of
roof material that contained asbestos. Andrew Newton, who
runs R & A Builders at Globe Industrial Estate in Radcliffe,
was fined a total of £9,000 for three charges and ordered
to pay £1,800 costs to the Environment Agency, which
brought the prosecution.
Bury Magistrates Court was told that Mr Newton had contracted
a company called T M Cladding to carry out some work at
his site. When the company refused to remove the waste because
it had traces of asbestos, Mr Newton instructed a company
called Muckers Ltd to remove the waste.
Under cautioned interview Mr Newton admitted that when
he instructed Muckers Ltd to dispose and remove of the waste,
he knew it contained asbestos and chose not to tell the
company or check if they held a waste carriers licence.
The court said that the offences were serious, that Mr
Newton had committed them intentionally and had put people’s
health at risk. Muckers Ltd and its director Michael Horrocks
will be prosecuted in a separate case for their part in
this incident.
Any business or householder who arranges for someone to
take away waste should check that the company is a registered
with the Environment Agency. A registered company should
always be able to provide their waste carrier registration
number and a receipt for the waste.
Speaking after the hearing, Environment Officer Ian Wood
said: "Companies organising the disposal of their waste
have a responsibility to make sure they provide those clearing
it with a full description so that they can send it to the
correct site for storage, sorting and disposal.
"The proper and safe management of waste is important
for the protection of public health and the environment,
especially when it concerns substances as dangerous as asbestos.
This case should send a clear message to all producers of
waste to make sure they know how to safely manage their
wastes and check that the companies they deal with are registered."
To check if a waste carrier is registered phone the Environment
Agency on 08708 506 506 or log on to: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Notes
On Wednesday 15 March 2006 at Bury Magistrates’ Court,
Andrew Newton, of Globe Industrial Estate, Spring Lane,
Radcliffe, Bury, pleased guilty to the following charges:
On or around 19 May 2005 he failed to prepare consignment
notes for the removal of special waste from his premises
at Unit 8, Globe Industrial Estate, Spring Lane, Radcliffe,
Bury to Pimhole Lodge, Pimhole Road, Bury, Contrary to Regulation
5 and 18 of the Special Waste Regulations 1996 (now the
Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005). Fine £2,000
On or around 19 May 2005 he failed to furnish the Environment
Agency with consignment notes regarding the removal of special
waste from his premises at Unit 8, Globe Industrial Estate,
Spring Lane, Radcliffe, Bury to Pimhole Lodge, Pimhole Road,
Bury, Contrary to Regulation 12(i) and 18 of the Special
Waste Regulations 1996 (now the Hazardous Waste Regulations
2005). Fine £2,000
On or around 19 May 2005 he breached his duty in intending
to dispose of controlled waste by failing to take all such
measures applicable to him in that capacity in that he instructed
Muckers Limited to remove controlled waste in the form of
asbestos from his premises at Unit 8, Globe Industrial Estate,
Spring lane, Radcliffe, Bury to Pimhole Lodge, Pimhole Road,
Bury, without ensuring that the said company were holders
of a waste carriers licence, contrary to Section 34(i)(a),
Section 34(1)(c)(i) and Section 34(1)(c) and 34(1)(c)(ii)
of the Environmental Protection Act 11000. Fine £5,000
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